


Overlooked

by Svetlaena



Series: Svet's Novelization One-Shots [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 01:50:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6933103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Svetlaena/pseuds/Svetlaena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wilds of Vvardenfell where a single misstep can mean doom, even the tiniest of problems shouldn't be overlooked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overlooked

She had initially decided to not do anything about it.

By the time Adarise saw the tiny imperfection in the blade, she was done with everything else and sunrise was close. Not being the most patient sort of Mer and the circumstances not helping in the least, she regarded the flaw with a sigh and sheathed the sword nonetheless. The forge had already started to cool, the hammers were put away, the rest of her steel was already on, and her supplies were piled next to the door.

Smoothing out the minuscule chip would have to wait. There was talk of a Corprus infected wandering near Tel Mora, and the residents were in grave danger. It was the Corprus-immune Incarnate's sacred duty to either quarantine the poor soul in Tel Fyr... or put them down. It would be several hours of trudging through the rugged mountainous Molag Amur region, but it was faster than boat, which always made her queasy anyway. Dunmer just weren't made for sea travel.

The journey started out smoothly enough, under clear skies and with very few cliff racers in sight. The first hitch only came when the path, which Adarise had been certain she'd used before, was blocked by a new lava flow. What at first seemed like a minor annoyance wound up forcing her to backtrack for at least an hour to get around a veritable wall of jagged mountains. They were far too steep and loose to climb; a step sent one sliding back three.

Frustrated, behind schedule, but silently enduring, the Dunmer came around the edge of the long mountain chain and looked northward. All she could do was groan at what she saw.

A couple of silt striders had wandered deep into the hot, dry region and perished, leaving an absolute feast for the cliff racers. They covered their meal so thickly that it took Adarise a moment to figure out what it was they were eating at all. The creatures hopped and pecked and quarreled in a mass of abhorrent noises and flapping wings.

A glance around revealed nothing in the way of better trail prospects. A deep sigh. She would just have to move, and keep moving as quickly as her heavy armor would allow, and hope that after she got far enough from their food they'd lose interest in favor of a dinner that isn't fleeing.

The sound of steel scraping against the scabbard was enough to get the attention of a few of the beasts on the outside of the pack. They turned to face the Incarnate with their wings spread wide, letting forth loud cries. Holding her sword out before her and dreading the inevitable, Adarise advanced at a quickened pace, bringing her shield up to protect her face and throat. For a moment as she approached she saw the mass of them rise, almost in unison... and then it was total pandemonium.

It was impossible to strike for any single one of the cliff racers, and the Dunmer didn't try. She swung wildly, the blade occasionally meeting with resistance. Unable to see much of anything besides a shifting field of wings and angry beaks, the warrior inevitably lost her bearings and when she next brought down her sword, it hit the wall of the canyon with a dreadful sound.

Adarise was only beginning to question why her blade seemed to lose all its weight, when she heard metal clattering to the ground. Her sword now broken, she cursed aloud and grasped her shield, clutching it over her head for dear life as she ran in spite of the weight her steel. The swarming cliff racers didn't give her a moment's rest, and she daren't even look back until she stopped hearing those horrid noises.

When she finally found refuge in an eggmine, the aging door shut behind her, the Dunmer was gasping for air through a hoarse throat... but if she wasn't, she would have cursed her own foolishness aloud. Instead she plopped down to the floor, spent, and looked down to what was left of her sword. Hardly anything but hilt remained in her hand, cracked right down the line from where the small imperfection had been.

"Lesson learned," Adarise muttered bitterly.


End file.
